Nationwide fined £1m over stolen laptop

NATIONWIDE was hit with a fine of almost é1 million today after a stolen laptop left customers at potential risk of identity fraud. The UK's largest building society was found to have inadequate information security procedures and controls in place by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

NATIONWIDE was hit with a fine of almost é1 million today after a stolen laptop left customers at potential risk of identity fraud.

The UK's largest building society was found to have inadequate information security procedures and controls in place by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

In addition, the regulator said Nationwide was unaware that the laptop contained confidential customer information and failed to start an investigation until three weeks after the theft.

The fine of é980,000 relates to a burglary at a Nationwide employee's home in August last year during which a company laptop was stolen.

The building society has not revealed how many customers' details were logged on the computer, but the theft prompted heightened fears over the risk of financial crime and identity theft.

It took place at a time of increased awareness of information security issues as a result of Government campaigns and media coverage, the FSA noted.

Margaret Cole, director of enforcement at the FSA, said: "Nationwide is the UK's largest building society and holds confidential information for over 11 million customers.

"Nationwide's customers were entitled to rely upon it to take reasonable steps to make sure their personal information was secure."

She added: "Firms' internal controls are fundamental in ensuring customers' details remain as secure as they can be and, as technology evolves, firms must keep their systems and controls up to date to prevent lapses in security."